Automatic double shuttle loom



July 31, 195i E. L. ROULLARD AUTOMATIC DOUBLE SHUTTLE LOOM 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 29, 1947 July 31, 1951 E. L. ROULLARD AUTOMATIODOUBLE SHUTTLE LOOM 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 29, 1947 July 31, 1951 ROULLARD 2,562,509

AUTOMATIC DOUBLE SHUTTLE LOOM Filed Aug. 29, 194'7 v 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 4 'Fdwaaml L. RouZZawd,

qyfimdsmwflmwf i u foweaqys July 31, 1951 E. L. ROULLARD AUTOMATIC DOUBLE SHUTTLE LOOM Filed Aug. 29, 1947 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 July 31, 1951 E. L. ROULLARD 7 2,562,509

AUTOMATIC DOUBLE SHUTTLE LOOM Filed Aug. 29, 1947 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 ly 9 1951 E. L. ROULL'ARD AUTOMATIC DOUBLE SHUTTLE LOOM 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 29, 194'? July 31, 2951 ROULLARD 2,562,509

AUTOMATIC DOUBLE SHUTTLE LOOM Filed Aug. 29, 1947 8 Sheets-Sheet '7 Man/17f July 31, 1951 E. ROULLARD AUTOMATIC DOUBLE SHUTTLE LOOM 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Aug. v 29, 1947 Patented July 31, 1951 Edward L. Roullard, Sanford, Maine, assignor to- Goodall- Sanford, .Inci, Sanford,- VMaine, a, corporation of Maine Application August 29, 1947, serial No. 771,296

13 Claims. (01. 139*243) This invention: relates to that type of loom in which two shuttles are simultaneously pic'l'ted in the some direction in the weaving operation Looms of lthis type are well known and familiar and are employed for weaving certain special types of-fabric, for simultaneously weaving two webs of fabric, rind also for weaving double pile fabric where the pile is formed by warp yarns extending back and forth between oppositely disposed grounder bese'febries and in which the pile is severed as the weaving operation proceeds The object of the present invention is to provide means for effecting automatic (filling. replenishment in this type of loom with the 1replenishinent taking place from the top. Auto metic filling replenishing looms have 'proven most satisfactory when the replenishing opere= tio'n takes plaice from the top, theit is, with the fresh filling carrier introduced to, and the ex hausted filling carrier discharged from, the :box on the lay by a downward movement. But the application of this principle to the type of loom here involved has heretofore seemed impossible because of the position of the two shuttles one above the other and the present I-invention is con-- cerned with a simple and effective solution of this problem.

The 'inventionhas :for its further object to provide certain improvements in the magazines and transferring mechanisms of automatic filling re plenishing mechanism.

The invention has for its further obieo't"copro vide improved mechanisms for efiecting'the stop ping of the loom in the case of a miss-positioned shuttle in the double shuttle type of loom.

These and other objects and features of the invention will appear moretullyrrom the'aocompartying description and drawings and will be particularly pointed out the claims.

Since the general construction and operation of the double shuttle type of cm, in which the shuttles are simultaneously picked in the some direction with the various edjunetiv'e 'ineche nisms employed in its operation, are well knownand familiar to those skilled in the art; and since the present invention is-only concerned with certain features of such looms; it-is unnecesseryto illustrate and describe anything more then that portion of a typical loom of this type which :is required in the disclosure of a referred form of the present invention.

So also since automatic filling replenishing mechanisms of various types are well known and familiar and have long been applied to various types of looms, it is necessery'to illustrate end describe detail only those features of such mechanisms as 'arei'necess'e'ry to a disclosure ot is preferred .form of the present invention In a usual loom the filling is carried back'andforth through the shed by ,a shuttle holding a, bobbin on which the filling is wound and this shuttle ateach end of itsmovcment enters a box Filling replenishment may take placeeither by changing the entire shuttle and bobbin or by changing the bobbin alone and the present in vention may be embodied in either type, that is, in the broader scope of the invention it is adaptable to either the shuttle changing or the bobbin changing type ofuloom in effecting fill-ins replenishment. Consequently, the term filling carrier as generally employed herein is appli cable either :to the shuttle and bobbin unit or to the bobbin alone, it being understood of course that the term bobbin includes any type of device upon which filling is wound and mounted in the shuttle.

In the drawings:

.Fig. 1 is a top plan view of those portions of aloom of the type here involved with which the present invention is involved and with e, preerred form of the invention embodied therein; Fig. 1a is a. diagrammatic illustration of an electrical means employed for'initiating the 9p- .eration of replenishment upon indication of fill ing depletion; 7 h v r Fig.2.isa front elevation of the righthand end of vthe mechanism illustrated in Fig, l with the breast beam and front-portion of the loom removed;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation ,of the construction shown in Fig. 1, looking toward the right; and with some of the portions removed and broken away; Y .J -4

Fig.4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 on a larger scale of that portion :of the mechanlsmsdir'ectly concerned with the transfer operation; 7 7

Figs. 5., 6, and 7 illustratejthe main portions of the transfer mechanism in three positions first, normal position; second, upon simu'Ita-F neous indication of'depletion inoboth filling car triers; and, third, at the end of the transferring 'operdtion;

Fig; '8 is a; top plan view of a portion of the mechanism of the magazines, transfer-1 ers, :etc. Fig. 9 is a detail 'toillustraite particularly the give ways at the righthandside of the mags-,-

zines. r V

In the loom illustrated the lay I, as usuahis carried by the lay swords. 2- pivotally mounted eta in theloom frame and the usual crankshaft end by the handles I l to start and stop the loom."

The usual frogs l2 are mounted at each side on the loom frame at the front and connected by the usual mechanism to the starter rodso that when either is moved forward the loom is stopped.

In the type of loom in which the two shuttles are simultaneously picked the shuttles travel in superposed relation and are therefore superposed before and after each picking operation and this has preventedfilling replenishment from above. In the present invention at the replenishing side of the loom one of the filling carrier boxes, such as a shuttlebox, is mounted on a supportwhich is independent of the lay, but which is given a movement in unison or synchronism with the lay between a position rearward of frontcenter and back center and with the two boxes, the one on thesupport and the other on the lay, superposed during the period the filling carriers are picked" out of and into the boxes. Thi is the important feature of the invention because while the two boxes are superposed during the picking period the box on the support at each beat-up when the lay is at frontcenter stands in a position rearward of front center. Thus transfer of afresh filling carrier from above may, with the boxes in this position, be into either or both boxes without interference' The filling carrier box, such as the shuttle box, on the support movable independently of the lay, may be either the lower l.

or the upper box when it and the box on the lay are in superposed relation, but preferably as illustrated the upper box is on the support because this enables a filling carrier, such as a bobbin, to betransferred from a position directly above and close to either box, that is, the mouth of a transferrer magazine may then be located directly over the lower box on-the lay'and in front of the upper box on the support. without interference. If,

however, the lower box i on thesupport and the upper box on the lay then to reach front center the lay must carry the upper box beneath the mouth of the magazine for the lower box on the support and thus there would be required a more extended movement of the transferrer to transfer a filling carrier from the magazine into the lower box; While this is entirely practical it is preferable, however, to mount the upper box on the support as illustrated and thus enable the mouth of the magazine for each box to be close to the box when in transfer position.

' The support is shown as a frame [3 carried by ashaft l4 journaled in the loom frame slightly in the rear of the pivot 3 on which the lay swings. This support is shown as given its backward and forward movement by a cam [5 on the crank shaft 4. This cam engages a roller I6 yieldingly mounted by mean'sof the spring I1 on a lever I8 pivoted on the loom frame at 19 and connected at its other end by a link 20 with the support. A spring 2| connecting the support to a bar 22 on the loom frame acts to hold the support against the face of the cam l5.

' The lay carries the lower shuttle box 23 and the support the upper shuttle box 24. These boxes '4 may be of the usual type open at the top and bottom and provided with the usual front binders 25 and 26. The boxes at the other end of the lay are, of course, of the usual type the one superposed upon the other and both mounted on the lay.

The picking of the shuttle takes place during a periodwhen the lay is approaching, is at, and i withdrawing from back center and'during this period the boxes must be in superposed position and this is secured by the shaping of the cam l5.

Since the boxes are widely separated fore and aft when the lay is at front center it is necessary to modify the picking mechanism. In the preferred form of the present invention this is accomplished by mounting two picker rods, 21 for the upper box and 28 for the lower box, on the support I3 at its upper end and providing a picker 29 on each rod. The support I3 carries a head portion 30 which lines up with the end of the box on the lay when the boxes are in superposition sothat the picker for the lower shuttle may aline with the end of it. These pickers are given their picking movement bya picker stick 3| pivoted at 32 onan arm 33;.carried by-the shaft I 4, yieldingly held outwardly by the spring 34 and given its picking movementby the connection 35 to the usual rocker arm 36. Thus the picker stick swingsbackward and forwardwith the support and it, and the pickers operated thereby are in position for simultaneously picking the two shuttles when the boxes are in superposed position.

a As it is well-known, it is necessary to provide mechanism for stopping the loom if a shuttle is improperly. boxed at the. end of the picking operas tion, and. for this purpose it is usual to provide frogs, such as -l.2:above referred to, which are moved forward by a'dagger carried by the lay. This dagger is held out of position if the shuttle is properly boxed, but drops into position to engage the frog if the shuttle is improperly boxed. Since in the present invention one box at the transfer side of the loom is carried by a support independent of the lay, and since at each beatup the support stops .at a position rearward of front center, the usual mechanism cannot be employed.

Theusual shaft 31 is mounted on the lay and has near each. end daggers 38 to cooperate with the frogs i2. Thisshaft 31 is provided at the right hand end with an arm 39 engaging a lever 40 fulcrumed at 4! on the lay and in turn engaging at its upper end the binder 25. A similar construction is provided at the opposite end. Consequently, it will be seen that if the shuttle at either end of thelayj is properly boxed the binder will press againstithe lever 40 and hold the dagger v38- elevated sothat as. the lay moves to front center the frog will not be engaged to stop thev loom. This arrangement is generally familiar. To take care of the upper shuttle box a secondshaft E2 is mounted on the lay and provided with daggers 43. At the transfer side of the loom this shaft 42 is provided with an arm 44 extending back past the support [3 when the support and lay are at forward positions and consequently at their widest point of separation. This arm 44 .is engaged bya bell crank lever fulcrumed at 450m thesupport above the position of the box. This bell crank lever has one arm 46 engaging at its endthe front binder of the box on the support and. its other arm is constituted as a rod 41 extending down and engaging the arm 44. Thus the bell crank lever carried by thesupport engages the front binder andextends over, down and behind the box on the-support and acts to control the position of the dagger 43 so that if a shuttle is not properly boxed in the box on the support the dagger 43 carried by the lay will be in such position as to eifect stoppage of the loom when the lay approaches front center.

The filling replenishing mechanism employs two magazines one for supplying each filling carrier box. Preferably these are of the vertical type and when, as in the preferred form illustrated, the filling is replenished by changing the bobbins in the shuttles these magazines each support a vertical column of the fresh bobbins which feed "down by gravity in the magazines. Associated with each magazine is a transferrer or pivoted hammer-like device which upon the call for filling replenishment acts to transfer the lowermost bobbin in the magazine to the shuttle when located directly beneath the magazine. The two sets of mechanism are preferably substantially the same in construction the only variations being due to slightly different location. Both magazines are shown as supported by an arm 48 projecting upward from the front portion of the loom frame and extending rearward. The magazine at the front for supplying the box on the lay is shown as comprising two vertical grooved columns 49 and f! in which respectively the butts and tips of the bobbins 5| rest and are guided in their vertical downward movement. At the bottom of the magazine a cradle 52 is pivoted at '53 and acts to support the lowermost bobbin. The mouth of the magazine is formed at each end by a pair of yielding give ways into which, by i the rocking of the cradle at the proper time, the lowermost bobbin is discharged and held ready for transfer into the shuttle therebeneath. In the construction illustrated the give ways at the right hand side of the magazine comprise two fingers. At the rear is a curved finger 54 pivoteden the magazine at 55 and yieldingly held by a spring 56 against an adjustable stop'5'l. At the front is a cooperating finger 58 pivoted at 59- on an arm 6!! depending from a transverse shaft Bl pivotally mounted at the front of the magazine. An extension 62 of the finger 58 engages an adjustable stop 63 on the arm 60 properly to position the finger. A spring 64 on the shaft 6| between the collar 65 and the projection 66 from the magazine grooved column 50 in which projection the shaft BI is pivoted acts to hold the finger 58 yieldingly in position. At the left hand side of the magazine the give way construction also comprises two fingers (see Fig. 7). The forward finger 6'! is similar in construction to the finger 58 at the left and is similarly mount- ;ed and operated by the shaft 6|. The other finis rocked to discharge the lowermost bobbin 5!,

the bobbin is dropped into the give ways which form the mouth of the magazine, the tip being yieldingly held between the fingers 54 and 58 and the butt between the fingers 68 and 61.

The rear magazine for supplying the fresh filling carriers to the box on the independently mounted support is similar in construction. It

comprises the vertical grooved columns 69 and I0,

the. cradle ll pivoted at 12 and has at the right the give way fingers 13, and 14 corresponding in 'construction and operation respectively to the fingers 54 and 58. It also has at the left the give seases way fingers 15 corresponding to the finger 68 and a finger 140 similar in construction and operation to the finger 14 both of which latter are supported and operated from the shaft 16 in the same manner as the corresponding fingers for the front magazine are supported and operated from the shaft 6|.

Cosequently, when the cradle H is rocked the lowermost bobbin in this magazine is discharged into and held b the give ways which form the mouth of the magazine in position for transfer to the shuttle in the box on the support.

The transferrers or hammer-like devices, which transfer the fresh filling carriers into the shuttles, are also preferably of similar construction and operation. These are mounted on stub shafts TI and 18 projecting from a suitable rigid support 19 extending upward'from the loom frame.

The transferrer 8D for the forward magazine is formed with a sleeve filpivoted 0n the stub shaft 18 and at its rearward end is provided with a lateral extension 82 adapted to extend along over and force the bobbin from the give ways into the shuttle when the transfer movement takes place. The transferrer is yieldingly raised by any suitable spring construction such as the spring 83 and its extremes of movement are limited by adjustable set screws 84 mounted in the arms 85 and adapted to engage a fixed portion of the frame, such as the sleeve of the other transferrer.

The transferrer 88 has pivoted thereon at 86 the usual dog 81 resting upon an adjustable stop 88 in the arm 89 projected downward from the transferrer. The transferrer is normally held latched in a mid-position, such for example as shown in Fig. 5. Any suitable latching mecha nism may be employed, such as the two-part latch device 90 and 9-! pivoted at 92 on the frame and cooperating with the projection 93 yieldingly held by the spring 9d. ;'I'his holds the transferrer latched in a mid-position against the tension of the spring tending to raise'it and with the dog 81 below the path of the hunter 95 on the lay. In this position the cradle stands, as shown in Fig. 5, supporting the lowermost bobbin in the magazine. This cradle is provided with a rearward extension 96 adapted to cooperate with a cam 91 mounted on the transferrer.

The latching mechanism of the transferrer is released upon the call for filling replenishment and any suitable mechanism may be employed for that purpose. As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 1a indication of filling exhaustion is made at the left hand side of the loom and for that purpose there is shown an electrically operating feeler mechanism in which a pair of contacts as and 99 enter the side of the shuttle at each beat-up and contact with a metal sleeve on the bobbin when exposed by depletion of the filling. This closes the circuit through a solenoid lllli which operates a hook member if?! to release the latching mechanism. 7

The operation of the transfer mechanism will now be apparent. The partsar in the position indicated in Fig. 5 during the normal operation of the loom. Upon depletion of filling in the lowermost shuttle at the left hand side of the lay upon the beat-up, the latching mechanism of the transferrer 80 is released and immediately the hammer rises under the influence of its spring to its uppermost position. This brings the cam '91- into engagementwiththe extension "96 of-thecradIe SZrocking-the cradle and ale lowing the lowermost bobbin 5! to drop into the give ways and at the same time the dog 81 is raised into the path of the bunter on the lay. The parts are now in the position shown in Fig. 6 and on the next beat-up of the lay the bunter 95 engages the dog 81 causing the transferrer to swing clockwise and force the fresh bobbin held in the give ways into the shuttle therebeneath and thus force the depleted bobbin out of the shuttle down through the usual opening in the lay. As the transferrer rocks the cam 91 moves away from the extension 96 of the cradle and the cradle swings back to normal position. The position of the parts at the conclusion of the transferring operation is shown in Fig. '7.

Now as the lay moves back the transferrer rises under the influence of its spring but is caught by the latching mechanism in its midposition.

Ihe construction and operation of the transferrer mechanism thus described with respect to the forward magazine is substantially the same for the rear magazine. In this case the transferrer arm IE2 is pivoted on the stub shaft 11 slightly above and to the left of the transferrer 86. It is provided with a similar extension I03 to extend over the bobbin to be transferred from the give ways of the rear magazine. A suitable spring at any convenient point, either on the stub shaft l! or as shown at [05, acts yieldingly to raise the transferrer. The dog 186 is pivoted on the depending portion I01 of the transferrer and held in position by the adjustable stop IBS. The latch member in this case is pivoted on the shaft 109 and yieldingly held in engagement with the depending portion I01 of the transferrer. This transferrer is provided with a projection H to cooperate with the extension III of the cradle 'H.

The operation upon the call for filling replenishment in the shuttle on the support is thus substantially the same as that already described. With the parts in normal position, as shown in Fig. 5, when the call comes, see Fig. 1a, the feelers H2l 13 close the circuit through the solenoid H4 and the hook H5 is actuated to release the latching mechanism and the transferrer rises to its uppermost position causing the projection H0 to rock the cradle "H and drop the lowermost bobbin in the magazine into the give ways bringing the parts to the position shown in Fig. 6 and again upon the next beat-up transfer takes place the parts coming into the position shown in Fig. 7 and then as the lay moves back the transferrer rises and is caught in midposition by the latch and the parts are again in normal position.

Since each time the lay is at front center with its box beneath the mouth of the front magazine the support with its box is also at its forward position in the rearward of front center with its box directly beneath the mouth of the rear magazine, it follows that transfer of a fresh filling carrier may be made into either box or into both boxes at the same time without any danger of interference and in each case with the transfer taking place directly downward and with the exhausted bobbin discharging directly downward.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. An automatic filling replenishing double filling carrier loom having a lay and means for .moving it back and forth between front and back centers, a pairof superposed filling carrier boxes mounted on one end of the lay and a single filling carrier box mounted on the other end of the lay, a support, a single filling carrier box mounted on the support, means for moving the support back and forth between a position rearward of front center and back center and in unison with the lay with the two single filling carrier boxes in superposed relation during a period of the movement toward, at, and from back center, means for simultaneously picking two filling carriers in the same direction across the loom into and out of the superposed boxes at the sides of the loom during said period, two magazines for filling carriers mounted on the loom frame one over the single box on the lay when at front center and the other over the single box on the support when at its front position rearward of front center, means for indicating filling depletion in each filling carrier, and means acting upon such indication from either filling carrier to effect transfer of a fresh filling carrier from the magazine over the box for that filling carrier when at its front position into the box and discharge of the depleted filling carrier therefrom.

2. An automatic filling replenishing double shuttle loom having a lay and means for moving it back and forth between front and back centers, a pair of superposed shuttle boxes mounted on one end of the lay and a single shuttle box mounted on the other end of the lay, a support, a single shuttle box mounted on the support, means for moving the support back and forth between a position rearward of front center and back center and in unison with the lay with the two single shuttle boxes in superposed relation during a period of the movement toward, at, and from back center, means for simultaneously picking two shuttles in the same direction across the loom into and out of the superposed boxes at the sides of the loom during said period, two magazines for bobbins mounted on the loom frame one over the single box on the lay when at front center and the other over the single box on the support when at its front position rearward of front center, means for indicating filling depletion in each bobbin, and means acting upon such indication from either bobbin to effect transfer of a fresh bobbin from the magazine over the box for that bobbin when at its front position into the box and discharge of the depleted bobbin therefrom.

3. In a loom having a lay and a pair of filling carriers simultaneously picked in superposed relation in the same direction across the loom the combination of filling replenishing mechanism for both filling carriers mounted at one side of .the loom, means for operating said replenishing mechanism to affect replenishment of either or both filling carriers when the said filling carriers are located one rearward of the other a filling carrier box mounted on the lay at the said side of the loom, a support at the said side, a second filling carrier box mounted on the support, means to move the support in synchronism with the lay during the period the filling carriers are picked out of and into the boxes and to bring the second box into registry with the filling replenishing mechanism rearward of the box on the lay when the latter box is in registry with the filling replenishing mechanism whereby the said mechanism may replenish the filling carrier in either box without interference with the other box. a 1

reater);

In. a c tr c d-a s parat n 1& i claim- 3 which the single, filling-carrier; box on the lay is the-lower-one-and the box.on,the support is the; upper'xone thus to enable a filling carrier to be inserted into either single box from a positiondirectly? above. and close to the box without. interference, with ,the, other box.

5. In a loom having'a pair-of" filling carriers simultaneously picked in superposed relation in the same direction across the 100m and a lay movinglo'etween front andzback centers, theicom bination of a singlefilling. carrier box orF-one'" end of the lay; a support with a single filling "carrier box; thereon, and means for moving the support in synchronism wiht the lay and with the single boxes isuperposed during the period the filling carriers are picked out of and into'the boxes-and to bri'r'i'gthe support at the endof each forward movement into a position rearward of front center with the single boxes out of vertical alinement thus to enable a filling carrier readily to be inserted from above into either single box without interference with the other.

6. In a loom having a pair of filling carriers simultaneously picked in superposed relation in the same direction across the loom and a lay moving between front and back centers, the combination of a single filling carrier box on the end of the lay, a support with a single filling carrier box thereon, and means for moving the support in synchronism with the lay and with the box on the support superposed upon the single box on the lay during the period the filling carriers are picked out of and into the boxes and with each forward movement of the support ending at a point to position its box out of vertical alinement with the single box on the lay, a pair of filling carrier magazines mounted on the loom one having its mouth over the box on the support and the other having its mouth in front of said box on the support and over the box on the lay when at front center thus to enable a filling carrier to be inserted directly into either box from the magazine thereabove.

'7. In a loom having a pair of shuttles simultaneously picked in superposed relation in the same direction across the loom and a lay moving between front and back centers, the combination of a single shuttle box on the end of the lay, a support with a single shuttle box thereon, and means for moving the support in synchronism with the lay and with the box on the support superposed upon the single box on the lay during the period the shuttles are .picked out of and into the boxes and with each forward movement of the support ending at a point to position its box out of vertical alinement with the single box on the lay, a pair of bobbin maga zines mounted on the loom one having its mouth over the box on the support and the other having its mouth in front of said box on the support and over the box on the lay when at front center thus to enable a bobbin to be inserted directly into either box from the magazine thereabove.

8. The provision, in double shuttle looms having two shuttle boxes at one side of the loom, and the usual lay moving between front center and back center, of a support at the said side independent of the lay, with one of the said shuttle boxes mounted on the lay and the other of the said shuttle boxes mounted on the support, and.

means for moving the support in unison with the lay between a position rearward of the front center position of the lay and the back center po iti n c the lay a dw t e wes n le boxes superposed during; the picking; periodthus to enablefilling replenishment to takeplace. from above into either or. both: boxeswithout-interfer; ence whenever the; lay andv support are-in {oremostpositions. a I r p 9.; 'Ihe provision, in double, shuttle looms -hav-- ing an upper and a lowershuttlebox at one;side of the loom and the usuallay moving between front-centerrand back center, of :a support atthe said side; independent of the: lay, with the lower shuttlebox mounted on the lay and-the upper shuttlebox'mounted on the support, and means for moving the support .--in unison with --the;,lay between apositionrearward of the front: center position Of the layand the back center position of; thelay and-with thesaid two shuttleqboxes superposed; during-- the; picking; period thus to enable filling replenishment to take place from a position directly above and close to either box without interference whenever the lay and support are in foremost positions.

10. The provision, in double shuttle looms having the usual lay and crank shaft for moving the lay between front center and back center, of a single shuttle box mounted on the lay at one side of the loom, a support at the said side of the loom with a single shuttle box mounted on the support, a cam on the crank shaft acting to move the support in unison with the lay between a position rearward of the front center .position of the lay and the back center position of the lay, the said movements of the lay and support acting each time the lay and support reach front position to cause the respective boxes thereon to be positioned vertically out of alinement thus to enable filling replenishment to take place from above into either or both with out interference.

11. In a loom operating with two superposed shuttles simultaneously picked in the same direction the provision of two filling carrier magazines at one side of the loom disposed one in the rear of the other, a lay movable as usual between front and back centers carrying the lower shuttle box and positioning it beneath the forward magazine at front center, a support movable between a, position rearward of front center and back center and carrying and positioning the upper shuttle box beneath the rearward magazine when at its forward position, and means acting to move the lay and the support back and forth between said positions and with the shuttle boxes thereon superposed during the picking period.

12. An automatic double shuttle filling replenishing loom having a lay and means for moving it back and forth between front and back centers, a :pair of superposed shuttle boxes mounted on one end of the lay, and a single shuttle box mounted on the other end of the lay, a support, a single shuttle box mounted on the support, means for moving the support back and forth between a position rearward of front center and back center and in unison with the lay with the two single shuttle boxes in superposed relation during a period of the movement toward, at, and from back center, means for simultaneously picking two shuttles across the loom into and out of the superposed shuttle boxes at the sides of the loom during said period, two magazines for filling carriers mounted on the loom frame one over the single shuttle box on the lay when at front center and the other over the single shuttle box on the support when at its front position rearward of front center, means for indicating filling depletion in each shuttle, and means acting upon such indication from either shuttle to effect transfer of a fresh filling carrier from the magazine over the shuttle box for that shuttle when at its front position into the shuttle box and discharge of the depleted filling carrier therefrom.

13. In a loom constructed and operating as in claim 8 the combination of a pair of picker rods at the rear of the support, the said support having a head portion lining up with the outer end of the box on the lay when the said boxes are in superposition pickers on the rods, the rear walls of the boxes and the head portion of the support 18 said head when the box on the lay moves forward out of alinement with the box on the support. and a picker stick movable back and forth with the support for operating the pickers.

EDWARD L. ROULLARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 973,094 Wood Oct. 18, 1910 1,711,613 Paine et al. May 7, 1929 1,807,722 Balser et a1 June 2, 1931 1,826,685 Benson Oct. 6, 1931 2,082,321 Bird et al June 1, 1937 2,111,526 Bird et al. Mar. 15, 1938 2,140,893 Brooks Dec. 20, 1938 

